


The Velveteen Rabbit

by SophieHatter



Series: Little Star [1]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Challenge Response, F/M, Family Feels, Friendship/Love, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Single Parents, Slow Burn, Sperm Donor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-18 21:16:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 15,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16126898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieHatter/pseuds/SophieHatter
Summary: Sam gets to 35 and decides that to wait any longer would be ridiculous. So what if Mr Right hasn’t come along? She has everything she needs to have kids if that’s what she wants. Everything except for one very important thing.Jack has nothing to lose. Life in the Black Ops has left him with nothing to keep a hold of, year after year, mission after mission. Sure, there’s a few friends he has stateside, people he drops in on when he can, but most of his time is spent in places he has to pretend never having seen doing things he can never admit to.There is one thing, though. A little girl in Arizona. A favour for a friend. To her, he’s just a photograph, a walk on character in her story. To him, she’s all he has left.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [AgentKalGibbs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentKalGibbs/pseuds/AgentKalGibbs) in the [TheFluffOff](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TheFluffOff) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> AU Jack and Sam go halves on having/adopting a kid? (Doesn't have to be a romantic relationship at all, but I won't complain if there is :D )

It was sweet of Jack, Sam thought, to send Ellie a gift. She was just turning one and wouldn’t remember that he had, but Sam would put the card away for her to read when she was older. The dress she would take a photo of and send to him.

Jack could have just sent a email, and she could send one to thank him, but Sam liked the idea of sending him an actual photo that he could carry around. Something he could take with him wherever the hell he went when he wasn’t stateside.

_Dear Jack,_

_What a lovely dress you found for Ellie! Thank you so much for sending it and don’t worry about it being a little bit after her birthday, I understand that your schedule doesn’t always work out that way. And besides, what kid doesn’t like getting presents whenever? Even if she is only a year old. She certainly liked the paper that it was wrapped in._

_Ellie’s just started walking, which now means everything in my house that isn’t toddler friendly has had to go up two feet. Heaven help me when she learns how to climb. She’ll eat pretty much anything, now, and she loved her birthday cake. I think she gets that from you._

_The postmark says Germany - I hope you were just passing through and not at the hospital? I know I’m not supposed to worry about you but sometimes - just sometimes - I wonder where you are and hope that you’re doing ok._

_Have you got that Netflix membership, yet? Let me know when you do, I have some recommendations for you. Gotta stay current with the culture, old man!_

_I have attached a photo of Ellie in your dress. I’ve also put one in the mail to you, but I know sometimes mail can take a while so I though that you’d like this one now and then you can have a copy to carry around with you when the letter arrives. She’s still in the 95th percentile for height, I guess she can’t fight genetics. But finding pants long enough for her when winter comes will be a challenge!_

_Next time you’re on the west coast come and see us. The offer to bunk in my spare room is always open. And I can book some scope time if you want to take advantage of my connections._

_Drop me a line when you get a chance. I always enjoy hearing from you._

_Coos and cuddles,_

_Ellie (and Sam)_


	2. Chapter 2

Jack received the letter and the email within days of each other. Germany had been his holding point awaiting the go on a mission into the Ukraine and he had been gone five weeks.

Arriving back at Ramstein, he’d been able to get his email immediately. Sam seemed pleased that he’d sent Ellie a gift, which was a relief. It hadn’t been a part of their arrangement, exactly, but he had said that he wanted Ellie to know him. Although he’d only seen her once since she was born, Sam sent the occasional photo in email and he felt a connection with the little girl. Not his little girl - he wouldn’t allow himself to think of her like that - but, still, she was important to him. When he didn’t come back from that last mission, she would be the only good thing he left behind on this earth.

The mail caught up with him a few days later and he tucked the photo in his wallet. That was just like Sam, to think of giving him something physical that he could carry with him. For those times when there was no reception, or no cellphone, and he just needed a little reminder of why he did what he did. Of why coming back mattered.

_Dear Ellie (and Sam),_

_I’m just passing through Germany, so no need to worry about me. I’ll be back stateside in November. Not sure of the dates, yet, but I should have enough time to spend a few days with you and your mom._

_If Mom could get some scope time, I’d love to take a look. What do you do when she’s up at night, huh? Has she let you look through the scope, yet?_

_And you’re up and walking, I hear. Are you too little for skates, yet? Probably would be silly to get some for this Christmas. Maybe next Christmas and then I could teach you how to skate when I come to visit. You’ll love it, it’s almost as good as flying. You’ll love that, too but it’ll be a few more birthdays before I can teach you that._

_I have a Netflix account, now (thank Mom for reminding me). What have you both been watching? I didn’t get a chance to watch anything while I was away, so I’m behind. I need to stay up with what’s on so we can talk about it._

_The pictures of you are great, you look so happy with Puppy. Does he still sleep with you at night? You’re bigger than he is, now. It’s a pity that the Velveteen Rabbit magic isn’t real and could make him into a real dog for you to play with. I have put the photo in my wallet so I can send you kisses whenever I think of you. Hopefully I can give you some real kisses soon._

_Keep getting up to mischief and eating cake._

_Kisses and cuddles,_

_Jack_


	3. Chapter 3

The book slid out of her fingers and hit the floor with a thunk, startling Sam awake. She held her breath, hoping that she hadn’t woken Ellie, but the little girl was still fast asleep. Easing her arm out from under her daughter’s head, Sam swung her feet to the floor and massaged the pins and needles from her hand.

Reaching for the book, she smoothed her hand over the cover, once again admiring the beautiful illustrations. The story was really too old for Ellie, yet, but it was special to her, a gift from Jack.

Like she did every time she read it, Sam wondered where he was and sent a quiet plea out to the universe that he would be ok. It was all she could do, not being religious and not being someone who had a hold on his heart. But still, she felt like it was important that someone hoped for him to be ok and to make it back from whatever mission he was on.

_Dear Jack,_

_Mommy read the Velveteen Rabbit to me again, tonight. And then I fell asleep on her arm and it got all tingly. I really like it when she reads it to me, it helps me go off to sleep._

_Thank you for the Christmas present. Mom says that it will probably still fit me next winter, too. Right now it’s like a dress, but it’s ok to wear a hockey jersey as a dress, right? Girls can like hockey, too. Mommy has attached a picture of me wearing it and making a twinkle star, just like you taught me._

_I know six words, now: Mommy, star, more, Pawpaw, duck and bike. When I say duck it sounds more like another word that I’m not allowed to say and Mommy does wonder if perhaps you taught me that word at Thanksgiving. Or maybe it was because you kept telling me to call the turkey a duck. Hopefully it was the second._

_Pawpaw says hello and to tell you that he is thinking of retiring, finally. His 35 year anniversary is coming up and he doesn’t want to move from Colorado Springs to take a command elsewhere. Mommy thinks the cadets are probably relieved that he’s finally decided to retire and give them all a break. He also says that you are welcome to come visit again next Thanksgiving or Christmas, if your assignments allow._

_Mommy’s got a paper coming out in November. Do you want her to send you a copy? Also, she wants to know if you liked the book and if you’ve caught up on Star Trek: Discovery, yet._

_We don’t know when you’ll next be on the west coast but Mommy says the spare room is always ready for when you can stop by._

_Write soon!_

_Cuddles and ‘Twinkle, Twinkles’_

_Ellie (and Sam)_


	4. Chapter 4

It was the last chance that he’d have to check his email for a month, if everything went well. She had made it, unknowingly, just in time. He boarded the transport in two hours. The photo had him smiling, as did the mention of ducks and Twinkle, Twinkle. During the week he had spent with Ellie at Thanksgiving he had done his best to teach her mischief and to imprint on her some memory of him.

Ellie was growing up fast and he truly regretted that it would probably be months before he could see her again. But maybe it was better if she didn’t remember him, then she wouldn’t miss him when he was gone. Jack shook himself. That kind of thinking was dangerous in his line of work.

There was a line to walk between fatalism and hope, too much one way or the other could get you killed. It’s not that Jack wanted to die, just that he had accepted that it was likely. At 50, he was really too old to still be in the field, but the Airforce kept finding a use for an old Para, so he kept lining up for the next mission.

Re-reading the last line, he was struck with a whimsical notion. The computers here were equipped with webcams and he had an hour to kill. Calling over the young tech sergeant, he got a hand with recording. She showed him how to zip the file and then attach it. Once it was sent, she looked at the photo of Ellie that was on the screen.

“She your little girl, Sir?”

“Nah,” he smiled dismissively. She wasn’t his. “My niece,” he lied when the Sergeant appeared confused that they had just spent 20 minutes recording and then sending a file to a kid that wasn’t ‘his’.

“Well, she’s awfully cute, Sir. Clear skies,” she bid him farewell as Jack logged out of his email and shouldered his pack.

“Same to you. Thanks for the help.”

_Dear Ellie,_

_That is the best twinkle star that I have ever seen! You must have been practising a lot. I have been, too. I got some help to make you a video so you can give me feedback on my hand actions._

_Of course girls can like hockey. They can like it and watch it and play it! Maybe next winter I will be able to teach you to skate and, when you’re a bit bigger, we can play together._

_Speaking of practice, I hope that you can practice saying duck a lot. You know, I’ve heard it helps if you say it really loud. In the middle of the supermarket or the library or even at the park. Really loud is how it should be said._

_I’m sure you won’t mind giving your Pawpaw a hug from me. Tell him that if he misses chewing out cadets, I’ll go fishing with him next time that I visit and he can chew on me a while. It would be great to make it out there for one of the holidays, but we’ll have to wait and see. I go when and where the AF tells me._

_Please send me Mommy’s paper the next time you write. You can attach electronic documents to an email, right? Or you could just send it in the mail. The book was really good (ok, I haven’t read it yet, but it’s in my backpack and I’ll read it while I’m away, just don’t tell your mom). And Discovery was great but I’m going to be behind again by the next time I can watch it. So, once again, no spoilers!_

_I’m not going to be able to email for a while, but keep writing. They can hold my real mail or whatever email you send just waits in the ether-air until I can read it._

_Until I can write again, keep twinkling!_

_Kisses and cuddles,_

_Jack_


	5. Chapter 5

The little video Jack had made was a hit. Sam had ended up saving it on her phone so that she could play it at any time. In the car, waiting in line, after her booster shots - Sam would get out her phone and play it for Ellie. After a month, Ellie could do all the actions in time with Jack and even some of the words.

Mid-term marking consumed Sam for two weeks and when she emerged from it, Ellie brought her The Velveteen Rabbit and said ‘Jack’ for the first time. With a twist in her stomach, Sam realised that it had been seven weeks since she had heard from him.

Her mind drifted as she read the story to Ellie that night. Sam didn’t know exactly what Jack did, but she’d grown up an Airforce brat and done her time, and the resulting service, at the Academy. If he couldn’t tell her anything, not a single thing about what he did or where he did it, well. There were only a few jobs in the military that were that secretive and Sam doubted he was in research. His body alone, with its tight muscles and scars, literally everywhere, told her that. And, if she needed any further evidence, he had been Hanson’s CO and she had known a little about what that asshole did.

So she’d known, when she asked for his help with Ellie, that he risked his life on a regular basis. It hadn’t mattered as much when they had just been friends catching up, seeing each other once or twice a year when his mission schedule and her academic or conference schedule matched up. But now she had reason to think of him every day and a greater reason to miss him, if only just for Ellie’s sake, if he didn’t make it back.

_Dear Jack,_

_We read your rabbit book tonight until I fell asleep. Mommy has been super busy for the past few weeks but now she has holidays and so we are catching up on reading together. I hope you like the picture of me ‘reading’ it to Puppy by myself!_

_In the last few weeks I have learnt many new words and despite Mommy trying to help me, she says that I still say duck wrong. But I know many of the words to Twinkle, Twinkle and I like to sing them when I’m watching you on Mommy’s phone. I can do all the actions, too! And something even more exciting, I can now say ‘Jack’, so I can ask for your book or your video any time that I want._

_So much has happened on Star Trek: Discovery while you’ve been away. The other night Mommy was screaming at the TV. But I’m not allowed to tell you what she was yelling about, something about not spoiling you, which is strange. Pawpaw says he’s spoiling me all the time, like it’s a good thing, so why wouldn’t you like to be spoiled, too?_

_It’s two months until my second birthday. Is there a chance you will be stateside at the end of May? Maybe we could have an early/late birthday party with you. Pawpaw will be retiring around then, too, so you could go fishing with him and let him chew on you (hopefully he doesn’t like the taste)._

_Do you need anything new to read? Mommy has a few books she thinks that you will like._

_Write to us soon, we like hearing from you._

_Starry cuddles,_

_Ellie (and Sam)_


	6. Chapter 6

Sam gave it two weeks before starting to worry about not getting a reply from Jack. For a few days she contemplated asking her dad if he could find out, but she came to the realisation that he wouldn’t have the clearance and shelved the idea.

Besides, Jacob might get the wrong idea from her enquiry. He’d already grilled her a few times about her relationship with Jack, Jack’s with Ellie and, in the most mortifying conversation of her adult life, had asked just how Ellie had been conceived. She’d told him it was none of his business and hadn’t spoken to him for four weeks.

Ellie carried on, oblivious to Sam’s concern. Jack was a face on a video to her, or a name Mommy said when they read The Velveteen Rabbit. When they had talked about his ‘contribution’ to Ellie, Jack had warned her that the not knowing was a potential problem. It was the reason why his marriage hadn’t made it past two years, why he had no real attachments, just acquaintances. She understood, now, what he had been trying to warn her about. _Don’t get attached, my life doesn’t allow for relationships._

When the first season of Star Trek: Discovery came to a close, Sam caved and sent him a letter with a small album of photos of Ellie, a few home comforts and a new book. It was like launching it into space, never knowing if it would come into his orbit, but it was the only thing that she could do.

_Dear Jack,_

_Mommy has put a package in the mail for you. Hopefully you will get it soon, she says you must be done reading the first book that she gave you by now. She also put in some pictures of me so you can see what I’ve been up to the past few months._

_Her paper has been published, too, so now you have two new things to read. She said not to worry if the paper has lots of technical words, she will explain it all to you when we see you next._

_It will be my birthday in four weeks and then I will be a whole two years old! Mommy says it is a bit of a shock to think it has been two years since I was in her tummy. She told me she remembers you coming to visit her when she was as round as a beach ball and nearly ready to explode! But she didn’t explode, which I’m glad for cause that sounds really messy._

_Star Trek: Discovery has finished for the first season, but you’ll be pleased to hear that it has been renewed. When you’ve had the chance to catch up Mommy says you will be so excited that there is going to be more story._

_And Pawpaw retires next week. He says he is happy to be finishing up, although he will miss the cadets, even if he does complain about them all the time. We’re having a party for my birthday and he is coming to stay for a week so that we can play lots and lots. And so that Mommy can mark all the papers from her students without me interrupting her every five minutes._

_Let us know when you can visit and if you get your package._

_Starry cuddles,_

_Ellie (and Sam)_


	7. Chapter 7

Sand, sand everywhere. In his shoes, his gear, his hair and, worst of all, his underwear. It didn’t matter how many times he’d emptied his pack, washed his clothes or showered, there was always more of it to be found.

For the first 48 hours, Jack hadn’t cared, he just got all the sleep that he could. Once he was back on a more even keel he faced frustration. Ten weeks were gone and he had nothing to show for them, nothing he could tell Sam or Ellie, anyway.

This was why he had said no the first time Sam had asked him. Maybe if he’d just stayed out of their lives his disappearances would have been ok, but instead he had asked for contact with the child. He should have known that some attachment was likely. Sam could understand not hearing from him for months, but it wasn’t fair to do that to a child. It was a fantasy that he couldn’t be true to. There was no being a part of the life of a child while working Black Ops. No part to play that was fair to the kid.

They were giving him some leave. It was the least that the AF could do after Jack had been stuck in that wasteland for ten weeks while he and his team had ‘improvised’ a solution to the mostly useless intel that they had going in. Of course, wasting two days of his leave waiting for a transport back stateside wasn’t helping his frustration. The constant presence of sand was the final straw.

During those two days Jack wavered on his final destination. It was her birthday and that was the only reason he needed to have to want to see Ellie, he’d decided. He just hoped that Sam wouldn’t think he was trying to crowd in on her happy little family of two. And it would give him a chance to apologise to Sam and to step back out of Ellie’s life before she really remembered who he was.

_Dear Ellie (and Sam),_

_Wow! Thank you for your package. I love the pictures of you and I look at them every night and sing Twinkle, Twinkle while I look at the stars. If you look up at the stars at night you just might be able to hear me singing to you._

_I was gone for so long that you seem to have grown up, already? When do you start college? Oh, right. Mommy says that you will only be two years old, despite the fact that you look so grown up. Maybe you will need to wait a few years for college, then._

_There is one good thing about me being away for a long time, I have lots and lots of leave saved up and now I have a chance to take it. If I can be in Arizona for your birthday, can I come to your party? I know Pawpaw will be visiting you and staying in the spare room, so I can sleep in a hotel. Maybe Mommy could recommend somewhere close to your place._

_I am almost caught up on Discovery, I will probably finish it on the flight back, so remind Mommy that she promised we could talk about it when I have finished the season. And thank her for the book, it’s been good to have something to keep me busy while I wait._

_Mommy’s paper was really interesting and I printed out a copy and have made lots of highlights with questions for her to answer. She’s going to think that I am one of her students, which is probably true. I would enjoy being in one of your Mommy’s classes._

_If I don’t hear from you before my flight, I’ll call Mommy when I land on US soil. Don’t have a time or day for that, yet, but hopefully it will be in the next day or so._

_Try not to turn two before I get there, I don’t want to miss your party!_

_Kisses and twinkles,_

_Jack_


	8. Chapter 8

The drive home from the airport seemed to take forever, she’d just managed to hit the morning rush hour. It wasn’t hard to keep Ellie entertained, but it did mean an awful lot of singing as they crept along the highway. In between songs, Sam went over the things that she wished she’d had time to talk about with Jack.

She’d tried to talk to him on the way to the airport, but any serious conversation had been continuously interrupted by a two year old demanding Jack’s attention. Sam knew that Ellie didn’t understand that Jack was leaving, but she sensed something was up and Sam had been reluctant to break into their farewell time with each other. Three weeks with Jack and she was smitten. Sam had to admit that they were both going to miss him.

Jack didn’t know when he’d next be free to visit, and things with her Dad were going to demand all of her attention for a while. There was a window, though, with the summer break and her Dad’s treatment, that gave her time to make some changes. Sam could talk with her lawyers, get paperwork together for Jack. He said there would be things for her to sign, anyway.

_Dear Jack,_

_I know we just said goodbye, but I just wanted to say, again, thank you for being here. For taking care of Ellie. For letting me talk to you about Dad._

_Please put me down as your next of kin. I know you don’t want us to worry about you, but I worry more, and Ellie will too, if we would never know what has happened to you. And, I think you’re right. If you want Ellie to get your survivor benefits then that is ok. I’m sorry that I was uncertain about it, I just needed a chance to think it over._

_I think, given Dad’s situation, that we should amend her birth certificate. I don’t want anything from you! But if something should happen to me, then I would like you to have custody of Ellie. I’d always thought Dad would ... but now that’s not possible. If something does happen, you could still talk to Mark and Beth about taking her, but I think Ellie should have a chance with her father, if all of that is ok with you._

_And, I’ve been thinking about this a lot, it would give you the right to see her, to look after her, if for some reason I’m unable to give consent. And, you could acknowledge her properly in your papers._

_Take some time to think about it. We don’t have to rush it. I can get the lawyers to change my Will to give you custody without us changing her birth certificate, but if you’re going to be changing your paperwork anyway, maybe it’s just easier to do it all at once? It’s your decision, just let me know._

_I’ll keep you up to date with how Dad is doing. You’re welcome here anytime._

_Sam_


	9. Chapter 9

The coffee stirrer flicked over and over between his fingers, but Jack paid no attention to it. He had years of practice at this particular task. The parking spot in front of the gate was still empty, despite the arrivals board saying that the plane was already here.

Jack hit the icon to open his email and re-read Sam’s words.

Father.

It was the first time he could remember her having said it. They had studiously avoided it between them, because Sam had insisted that he had no obligation to her or the child. Because he had insisted he was no good for being a parent.

But now the child was Ellie. And Sam had called him her father.

She was shattered by her Dad’s cancer diagnosis, he could see that. It was why he’d extended his leave for another week. Taking care of Ellie so Sam could have some room to process what was happening was the least he could do. Usually Jack was far away, unable to help his friends, except to send them words of comfort. This time he had been there, he could do more than give comfort, he could do something. And it had felt good to be there, to be needed for a few days.

Jack scrubbed at his hair and leant back in the uncomfortable boarding gate seats. This, this was dangerous. Ever since his divorce, Jack had carefully limited his friendships to a distance. The distance from people, real living people, helped him to get the job done. You had to be an empty husk to be career Black Ops. To shoot people in the head, wire bombs to their cars, infiltrate their homes while they slept. If the target ever took on a resemblance to someone you cared about, you were done in the job.

Sam, he knew, was good people. One of the best, if he let himself think about it too much, which he usually didn’t. And she was inviting him in, not out of politeness but out of necessity. Sam had no idea that he was the enemy, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, unexploded ordinance that would rip her family apart when it was tripped.

It was his fault. He’d opened the door to this kind of thinking by offering to make her next of kin, to nominate Ellie as his survivor. Jack just couldn’t stand to see Sam hurting and he knew that would happen if he disappeared without a trace. Sam would do whatever she could do to find out what had happened to him. Nominating her as next of kin had been a kindness, to save her that worry and that trouble because worrying over him was not worth the kind of effort that she would put into it.

Now there was Ellie and he wanted to do for her whatever he could. As the child of a veteran she’d be entitled to lots of things that could help her. Sam didn’t want money, especially child support, from him. That was fine, even if he could easily afford it. Heck, she could have every cent the AF paid him for the rest of his life and he’d be fine. There were already enough unspent pay checks in the bank to see out the rest of his life, short or long.

Sam didn’t want the money, but Ellie could use it. To pay for college or buy her first car, to travel the world or put a down payment on a house. Hell, she should get the cabin. It’s not like there was anyone else.

_Dear Sam,_

_I wish I could have stayed longer to give you a hand and spend time with Ellie. I don’t know you do it on your own, but the two of you together are a wonderful family._

_If you’re comfortable with changing her birth certificate then do it. It’ll give Ellie more from me, if anything ever happens. I respect that you don’t want any financial help, but maybe just put everything away for Ellie when she’s older. It’d be good for college or things like that. It’s not like there’s anyone else who would do better out of what I have._

_I’ll start the paperwork when I get to Germany, you should get your copies in a few weeks. Just sign what you need to (and see your lawyer, if you like) and send it back to the address they give you._

_I don’t know what my assignment is yet, or how long it will be for. I’ll drop Ellie a line when I do. Please, let me know how your Dad is going. Write to me any time and I’ll write or call when I can._

_Jack_


	10. Chapter 10

He was sleeping. The day after radiation really knocked him around. Sam adjusted the way her feet were propped up on the second chair and stared at her laptop. Going to chew on her bottom lip, she stopped when it hurt. The worry reflex was taking a toll on her skin.

Again, she was checking the flight schedule. Dad was insisting that she go back to Arizona tomorrow but Sam was reluctant to leave. He had seemed so well six weeks ago when he told her this was going to take a while. Now, lying exhausted, pale and emaciated in the hospital bed, Sam had realised that he had very little time left.

Mark would get here tomorrow, bringing Ellie with him. It had become their exchange point over the past four weeks. Meet at the hospital, one of them taking Ellie home with them while the other stayed with Jacob. If Sam decided to stay here, then Ellie could stay with Beth. Her sister-in-law had already offered.

Not for the first time, she wished Jack were here or at her house in Arizona. She would miss Ellie, but she would also feel less guilty about leaving her with Beth and Mark and about having to rely on her brother and his wife.

There was no seeking advice from her father. She knew what he would say: that she didn’t need to be here, that Ellie needed her more than he did. But Sam did need to be here and Sam needed him right now, more than Ellie needed her. Ellie didn’t know, didn’t understand what was happening to Pawpaw. But Sam knew that she only had a few weeks with her dad left.

_Dear Jack,_

_I’m here at the Academy Hospital in Colorado Springs. There are so many reminders of you and of dad. I had forgotten what it was like to live in an Airforce town._

_Dad is going downhill fast. He’s on chemo and radiation nearly every week and it’s knocking him around. The medicos say it’s going to give him a few more months, but I’m not convinced. You know Dad. He’s always a force of personality, pushing on no matter what. He puts on a brave face for me and Mark, but he tires of that and you can see that maybe he’s ready to go, although he’d like it to be with as little fuss as possible._

_I’m staying at his house in the Springs. Mark and I split the week, flying back and forth. He and Beth are watching Ellie while I’m here and then she flies up with Mark and I take her home. She’s going to have a platinum frequent flyer card, soon._

_I’m thinking of coming up here and staying for a few months until this is all over. Dad doesn’t want me to fuss, or to be away from Ellie, but the commute back and forth is exhausting and, frankly, it would be cheaper to stay here than to keep flying. And maybe I could get a nanny for Ellie, rather than having to land her on Mark and Beth all the time. There’s four more weeks of summer break left and no reason for me to be in Arizona that I can’t handle from here._

_Sorry for dumping on you, but I know you said to write and actually telling you all of this has helped me to make some decisions. So, you’re kinda helping me by just listening which I know you will like._

_Sam_


	11. Chapter 11

Three days of downtime wasn’t enough, but he wished it was. Jack cursed geography and how long it took to get from Ramstein to Peterson. Three days would just barely cover the return travel time.

He double checked the time, doing the conversion again. No, it was too late to call Sam. 3 am was the worst possible time to get woken up, he should know.

There was, really, nothing he could do, but it was hard to accept. Sam wasn’t his sister or his wife. Jacob wasn’t his father. There was no application for compassionate leave for fathers of friends, and he didn’t have Ellie’s updated birth certificate, so he couldn’t even argue that it was her grandfather and she needed his support. If that was even possible within the regs. He’d never scrutinised them closely enough to find out.

Jack mentally cycled through the resources that he had to hand: a few contacts at the Academy, money, the cabin. None of them seemed to be able to solve any pressing problems for Sam or Ellie. All he could do was maybe send Ellie some things to keep her busy while her Mom was distracted. And maybe something like that for Sam, if he could figure out what she would like.

_Dear Sam,_

_I have a few days downtime between missions and I wish I had longer. It’s not hard to get a transport from Ramstein to Peterson, it’s just that flying wastes so much time, which I am sure that you appreciate at the moment._

_There’s a few things that I would like to send to Ellie. It sounds like there’s always someone staying at your Dad’s house. Maybe I could send them there?_

_Thanks for the latest book you gave me, I was able to finish it over the past few weeks. Maybe it’s about time I returned the favour? You must be spending a lot of time sitting around in airports and hospitals._

_I know we’re not supposed to talk about money, but I can imagine the flights and a nanny must be costing you a bit. If I can help you out, even just with a loan, let me know, ok? Don’t worry about obligations and independence for the moment. Do whatever you need to do for you and Ellie and we can work out who owes who what the next time that I see you. Hopefully that will be soon._

_Give Ellie my love and remind her that I still sing Twinkle, Twinkle to her every night. She is the most precious of stars._

_Kisses and hugs to you both,_

_Jack_


	12. Chapter 12

Ellie rolled over and jabbed Sam in the ribs with her toes. Sam couldn’t complain, Ellie had been shipped from California to Colorado to Arizona too many times to count over the past few weeks. Now they were driving 12 hours from their home to Pawpaw’s over two days.

The poor kid was restless and cranky and just wanted to be in her home with her mom. Instead they were sleeping in a motel in Santa Fe. Well, Ellie was sleeping, Sam was not.

She turned the bedside clock towards herself. 3:24 am, a good time to be asleep.

Sam made her way to the bathroom, may as well go if she was already awake. When she returned, her phone flashed with a new email received. She flicked it open - it was from Jack.

_Dear Jack,_

_We’re in the middle of driving to Colorado Springs right now, spending the night in Santa Fe. Of course we would love to have you here, I think that would be so good for Ellie, but we always knew you weren’t going to be available for times like this, not at a moment’s notice. Please don’t worry too much._

_Money is ok. Dad and Mark and I have agreed to use some of the money coming to us to cover expenses for now. You’re right - it doesn’t matter for the moment, just whatever Dad needs and whatever I can do to help Ellie. That’s all that matters._

_Yes, please send whatever you would like to Dad’s address, I’ll put it at the end of this email. Books would be welcome, but it’s hard to read for fun right now. There’s so much information on Dad’s medication, his cancer, hospital procedures, support available and palliative care plans that if I don’t have to read, I don’t. When this is all over, though, I think it would be nice to bury myself in books for a while. I really don’t need to read anything medical for the next ten years._

_Ellie is doing ok, but shuffling her back and forth is taking a toll. I think staying in the Springs will help her. She knows Dad’s house and I can put her to bed every night. That will give her some sense of normalcy. You’ll be pleased to know that we have packed your book and Puppy and the photo I took of the two of you on the porch swing. You’ll have a presence in the Springs, too._

_Thanks again for everything. I’m beginning to wonder what we would do without you._

_Sam and Ellie_


	13. Chapter 13

It had been 20 minutes since he’d hit send on the email to Sam when a reply from her landed in his inbox. He’d never had a response from her so fast. Jack checked the time conversion a third time. Sure enough, it was 3:45 am in Arizona, or in Santa Fe, he corrected himself.

_Hey Sam,_

_Gonna call. Answer if you’re awake and don’t mind talking to this old bird. If you don’t, I’ll assume that you’ve gone back to sleep._

_Jack_

Logging off, he scrolled up Sam’s number as he stepped outside into the midday sun. He walked against the flow of personnel heading to chow and wandered down and around the corner until he found somewhere quiet and shady.

He pressed the green button under her number and waited for it to connect. Sam picked up on the first ring.

“Hey old bird.” She sounded sleepy and there was an echo to her voice.

“Didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No. I’m just tired cause I’m always tired, these days. When I got your message, I came into the bathroom so that we wouldn’t wake Ellie.”

That explained the echo. “How is she?” Jack asked.

He didn’t want to ask Sam how she was, he hated the awkwardness of that kind of question. She was having a terrible time and she didn’t need to hide it to make him feel better. But Ellie, they could both talk about Ellie.

“Given everything, she’s doing really well. But I feel like I’ve barely seen her for weeks. Mark and Beth are great, but it’s not me, you know? And it’s not you.” She was so exhausted she was forgetting to watch what she said.

“I really wish I could be there. I even looked into it, but I’ve only just got back from leave. If we had the family stuff sorted out, then maybe I could’ve swung something ...”

“Don’t worry yourself, please. You were so much help after Ellie’s birthday. More than I could ever ask you for. There’s no expectation that you owe us anything.”

“I know, Sam. It’s not about that.” Jack paced a little and then leaned his forearm against the wall, resting his head on it. “It’s not about owing you. It’s about being there for people, people that matter.”

She sighed and it sounded like her throat was tight. “I’m sorry. I’m doing the same thing Dad does, insisting that no one make a fuss, ignoring what it is that they might want to do.”

That made Jack laugh softly. “Only just realising you’re a chip off the old block?”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed ruefully. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about that, lately. To look at Mark and see what habits he’s got from Dad, to see which ones I’ve picked up.”

“I really am sorry, Sam. Your Dad’s a great guy. I wish I’d had more time to get to know him.”

“It’s strange you should say that. Dad’s been asking about you a lot. I’ve been trying to figure out why.”

Jack’s heart stopped for a moment as he recalled the last thing Jacob had said to him before returning to Colorado Springs.

“I don’t know.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. Jack didn’t know, but he could guess. “He’s probably just worrying about Ellie’s future, wondering if she’ll go into the Airforce or astronomy. The Airforce pull on her has got to be pretty strong.”

“Dear god. Poor kid hasn’t got a hope. Look at me, I only got out by the skin of my teeth.”

Jack did know. He’d gotten to know Sam during her compulsory service phase and she had been counting down the days until her obligation was repaid. Not that she didn’t have a great deal of respect for the Airforce, but having a Colonel for a father and an asshole Captain for an ex-boyfriend had set her mind on getting as far away from the Airforce as soon as she could.

He realised he’d been silent too long. “With your brains, she can do anything she wants.”

“She’s got good odds in the brainpower department. From both of us,” Sam said.

Us. It made his heart skip and he swallowed to settle his pulse. Keeping a lid on his emotions was what he was supposed to be good at.

“Sam,” he had a sudden idea.

“What?” She asked, startled by his tone.

“Is Jacob well enough to record something for Ellie? Like I did with Twinkle, Twinkle?”

“Yeah,” Sam breathed softly, thinking as she spoke. “On a good day, just before treatment he’s usually doing ok. He could do that, so she can, she ...” and she was crying, trying to cover it up, but not doing a very good job of it.

“It’s ok, Sam. Cry all you need. I’m here.” Pacing over to the low wall surrounding a garden bed, he sat. “I’m listening.”

Sam cried, and Jack murmured softly to her for about ten minutes. As the flow of her tears eased, he tried talking with her again.

“Been holding that in for a while,” he observed.

“I have been,” Sam agreed. “There’s just no one else. I have to have it together for Ellie, and for Dad and Mark.”

“I know. That’s the worst part of going it alone, there’s no one to lean on when you need it.” Jack knew he sounded lonely and resigned. He hoped Sam was too distracted with her own grief to add his pain to her own.

“So true,” she replied, and the depth of her aloneness tore at him.

“I wish I was there.” It slipped out before he could put it back.

“I wish you were, too.” Sam’s answer was so faint that he wondered if she’d meant him to hear it.

“Call me,” Jack said on impulse. “When you can. I’m on stand down, I’ll have my phone.”

“Ok,” she agreed without protest, sounding as if she were clinging to a lifeline.

“And I’ll call you. At a more appropriate time. Maybe after Ellie goes to bed?”

“That would be,” her voice wavered but Sam got it back under control. “That would be really great. Jack?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for calling.”

“You’re not alone, Sam. Not while I’m around, ok?”

“Neither are you, Jack. Remember that the next time you’re trying to tell me that you’re not important to Ellie. To me.”

“Alright,” he smiled. “Deal. I’ll call you tomorrow night. You should go get some sleep if you can, you’ve still got a lot of driving to do.”

“I’ll try, if I can get Ellie to stop kicking me in the ribs.”

Jack chuckled. “You wanted a kid, remember?”

“What the heck was I thinking?” She laughed. “Night, Jack.”

“Talk to you soon. Kiss the little Star for me.”

“Will do.” Sam ended the call.

Jack flicked through the photos that he had saved on his phone. Ellie’s birthday, Ellie playing, Ellie sleeping on his chest. Then he found the one he was looking for, Ellie smooching her Mom. The look of devotion on Sam’s face still moved him.

He brushed his fingers over Sam’s smile, and then abruptly turned off his phone. Whatever it was he was doing, he’d better stop. Sam just needed some support for a while and then she’d be back to her usual self, taking on the world of astronomy and hitting all her strikes out of the park. She didn’t need an old bird pining after her. She was Samantha Carter, invincible, independent, indestructible.

Jack liked that about her, a little voice at the back of his mind spoke up. Squashing it down, he headed for chow.


	14. Chapter 14

Collapsing on her dad’s couch, Sam lay her head against the back and closed her eyes. Ellie had been so wired about being at Pawpaw’s that it had taken half an hour longer than usual to get to sleep. After seven hours of driving and a long play, Ellie was overtired. So was Sam.

The phone ringing woke her up and she scrabbled for her pocket. These days she was on high alert for a call from Mark or the hospital. When Sam saw the number, she kicked herself. She’d forgotten that Jack said he would call. Not forgotten, exactly, more forgotten to stay awake for his call.

“Guten Morgen,” she answered.

“Scheiss,” Jack replied. “Did I wake you?”

“No. Well, yes, but I didn’t mean to be asleep.” She covered a yawn, “Just got done putting Ellie to sleep and then crashed on the couch.”

“I’ll let you go sleep, then,” Jack told her. “You barely got enough last night.”

“No,” Sam said quickly. “Talk to me for a bit. It’s nice to have adult conversation that isn’t about hospitals and medical stuff.”

“Ok.”

She heard Jack sit, could imagine him pacing before and now putting his endless energy into flicking his pocket knife or twirling a pen.

“You want to hear about Ramstein?”

“Sure. I don’t remember much about it.”

“You were stationed here?”

“Dad,” Sam answered. “I was three or four.”

“Aww. Baby Sam,” he teased. “Bet you were cute.”

“You’ll never see the photos, never,” she laughed. “Mark was born at the hospital. There’s photos of me holding him. I bet the inside of the hospital looks the same.”

“Probably,” he agreed. “But then, all military hospitals use the same decorator.”

“Ah, yes. The one that likes pale gray and pastel salmon. I swear I’ve seen the same pictures on the walls in completely different hospitals, too.”

Now Jack was laughing, “If you wake up after an evac sometimes you have no idea which country you’re in.”

“That happen to you?” Sam sobered.

“A few times, yeah,” Jack answered, carefully.

“I remember, when we ...” She nearly said slept together, though that really hadn’t been it. More like an act of conception. That they did a few times, just to be sure. “You get hurt a lot?”

“I try not to, but I’ve been in nearly 30 years. There’s going to be a few bumps and bruises.”

“Didn’t look like bumps and bruises,” Sam said carefully. “Nor were there a few.”

“Sam.” His voice was soft, she thought it was a warning.

“Sorry. I forgot about the rules.”

“There’s no rules,” Jack said, his voice tight. “Just, places we agreed not to go.”

“You mean like spending three weeks in my house looking after your daughter?” Sam hadn’t meant it to be argumentative. She was just tired and not up for playing their game of dodging land mines in no-man’s land, tonight.

“Sam. If it bothers you that I am seeing Ellie, I can ...”

“No,” she said firmly, almost shouting him down. “Don’t, Jack. That’s not what I meant.”

Taking a deep breath, Sam waited for him to say something. When Jack didn’t, she quietly went on. “I meant the opposite.”

“Sam?” Jack was still quiet, but there was uncertainty in his tone now.

“I’ve been thinking about this, with what’s going on with Dad. Where’s home, for you?”

“Wherever the Airforce sends me.” His reply seemed reflexive.

“When you have time to just go wherever you want. Where do you imagine you’ll go?”

“I don’t ...” Jack stopped. “The cabin, I guess.”

Sam had forgotten about his grandfather’s cabin. “Oh. Of course,” her resolve wavered.

“Tell me,” Jack prompted.

“I just thought ... that Ellie’s kinda it, right? The thing you came here, well not here, Arizona I mean. She’s the thing you came back to the States for.” It had sounded far more logical and reasonable when she had said it to herself in the car. Exhaustion probably wasn’t helping her thought processes.

Jack was wary, Sam could hear his hesitation. “Sam,” there was weariness in his voice as well as sorrow and maybe regret. But the weariness overwhelmed her.

“Just, forget what I said,” she hurriedly told him. They were way, way too far into territory that they had agreed not to traverse.

“No.” It was gentle, his refusal. “I’ll think about it.”

She meant just to sigh, but there was a pain in it, too.

“Don’t,” Jack told her. “Don’t go trying to rescue me. I don’t need rescuing.”

“No,” Sam agreed. “You don’t. It’s not pity, Jack.”

“What is it, then?”

“Family.”

There was a long silence. Finally, Jack asked, “Ellie?”

“Ellie is your family, Jack.”

More silence.

“If you want her to be,” Sam finally said.

She heard him swallow, try to speak. Stop, and then try again. “I, uh. Probably time for me to go.”

Sam heard him moving on the other end of the phone. “How about I call you tomorrow night?” She was worried that he wouldn’t call again, not after this conversation.

“Alright. Talk to you tomorrow, then.”

“Ok.” She waited, making him hang up first.

Silently Sam swore every colourful word that she could recall. She had thoroughly botched that conversation. When Ellie didn’t know who Jack was, it was going to be her fault.

Sam threw herself into tidying, cleaning. She and Mark had been using the place as a crash pad, but what with spending all their waking hours at the hospital, all the little routine jobs had been neglected.

An hour later, she let herself fall into bed and tried not to think about Jack no longer being a part of her life.


	15. Chapter 15

The call ended and Jack stared at his phone. He couldn’t identify what he was feeling.

Shock? Possibly. He had dismissed Sam as being the needing a man type long ago. No, that wasn’t what she was saying, because having Ellie was exactly that, something that she hadn’t needed a man for. Except for one thing which she could’ve gotten a number of different ways.

Fear? What did he have to fear from Sam? Who he’d known since she was a cadet, who was the most capable of all his friends, including the ones who were career military. Heck, if she’d stayed in, Sam would be a Major or a Colonel by now, all on her own merits. She’d have refused help from her dad or from Jack or from any of the other friends of her father who had known her since she was born.

Was he afraid for her? Maybe, a little. Where was Sam going with this? Jack left nothing but wrecked lives in his wake, professionally and personally. He’d been careful, so very careful, to protect Sam from that. To create a safe oasis around her and then around her and Ellie. He’d only broken through that once, the long weekend that they had spent ... don’t go there, O’Neill. You filed that away as a transactional activity, never to be recalled, again.

He couldn’t help it, though. To hear Sam’s voice, listen to her breathing, her sighs of regret and pain, it all took him back there. Maybe it had been a mistake to spend so long together, to fill the time in-between with intimacy and affection. But Jack was not the kind of person to treat Sam like a vessel, or a specimen cup, to be filled, to be measured and tested, even when that was all she had asked for, all she had wanted from him.

It hadn’t felt wrong at the time. But the last time they, he, had tried to get her pregnant, he had sensed something from her - regret, pain. Jack had thought then that Sam had simply regretted choosing him. After, in the taxi to the airport, on the plane, he’d rationalised that she knew he was a bad choice and was distancing herself. He had more than half expected to never hear from her again.

It had been a relief to receive the email from her four weeks later. So simple and yet he still had it saved on his account. _Thank you_ the subject line had read. No other text, just a photo of one of those pee on the stick pregnancy tests, showing two lines.

While wrapped up in his thoughts, his aimless wandering had brought him to the Communications Centre. Jack didn’t think, just strode inside and logged on to one of the general use computers.

_Dear Ellie,_

_< img=“positive_pregnancy_test.jpg”>_

_The happiest day of my life. The day you made me a dad._

_Jack_


	16. Chapter 16

The phone ringing woke her and, for a moment, Sam thought that she had slept through Jack’s call time, again. Reaching for the phone, she squinted until her exhausted eyes came into focus. It was Mark.

“Hi Mark.”

“Sam? You better get here. Dad’s ... really bad.” Mark sounded resigned. In a way, they had both prepared for this.

“Yeah,” she acknowledged, sitting up. “What’s the ... 7:20. The nanny agency was sending someone to be here at eight. I’ll leave as soon as I can. Will it ... will that be enough time?”

“The doctors said sometime today. Sorry, I forgot you had Ellie with you.” Her brother sounded exhausted.

“It’s ok, Mark. Is Beth coming up? She can bring the kids and whoever the agency sends can watch them. I already asked how many they could watch, just in case. Three is no problem.” Sam pushed the covers back, gave Ellie a quick look, and then began pulling clean clothes out of her suitcase.

“Probably. She said she would, if she could get the flights.”

“Alright. Has she got enough to pay for same day flights? I can put them on my credit card.” Sam changed her bottom half, pulling on clean underwear and jeans, balancing on the edge of the bed to pull on socks.

“Yeah, I, don’t know ...” Mark trailed off. Despite being a cop, when it came to organising his own crises he’d never been very good at it. Sam briefly felt a pang for the lost little boy he had been after their mom’s death. Well, that couldn’t have helped how he was feeling now.

“How about I call Beth on my way over? She and I can work out what we’re doing with the kids, together.” That would be easier for them all, better than making poor Mark the go-between.

“Good idea,” Mark seemed relieved.

“Need me to bring anything? Have you had breakfast?” Sam began getting Ellie’s clothes ready, she might just get the nanny to change her after Ellie was done with breakfast.

“I, uhh. I was working that out when they called.”

“I’ll bring something. You just stay with Dad. I’ll text you when I’m leaving.” Maybe it was the military or maybe it was because she was four years older when Mom died, but Sam had always been the one to organise her brother.

“Right. Ok. Talk to you soon.”

“Talk soon. Bye,” and Sam hung up.

Immediately, she began writing out a list of instructions for the nanny, throwing bagels in the toaster between making points on the paper. She nearly left the house with her nightgown on. Fortunately the nanny saved her from that. Sam had to like her, already. 


	17. Chapter 17

Jack had set his alarm for 04:30, gone for his morning run and been sure to be finished by 05:00. An hour later, when no call from Sam had come, he went for chow.

So, he’d messed that up, too. Typical of Jack O’Neill to ruin the one good thing that had happened to him this decade. Briefly, he considered redacting his request for long term leave that he’d put in yesterday. With a mental shove and a well practised walling up, he locked the hope away.

He needed some time away from the Airforce, from everything. It was nearly a year since he’d been to the cabin, doubtless it would need repairs and winterising, if he was coming back to Germany for the winter. Or, if Jack decided that he’d had enough of dropping out of nowhere and killing people, he could do those renovations to make the place permanently habitable that he’d been planning for forever.

When Jack got back from this mission he’d find out when the leave was approved for. He had nearly three months on the tab and he had been planning to take it all, fly out to Arizona and ... but obviously that wasn’t going to happen. Minnesota was his destination, now.

The vibration in his pocket began just as he was leaving the mess. For a moment, the hope that it was Sam tried to force its way out of lockdown, but then Jack saw the number. Just his CO. His mission had been moved up 24 hours. Good, it would stop him brooding on Sam and Ellie. 


	18. Chapter 18

Little people shouts woke Sam and Ellie before the alarm had a chance to go off. Ellie was up and out of bed and off to play with Isaac and Max before Sam came to full consciousness. She gave a moment of thanks for having the kids all together. It would be a welcome distraction for the little ones, and the adults, in the coming days.

Taking a moment to thumb through her emails, Sam saw Jack’s message to Ellie. If she’d known that Jack had kept that picture ... Stiffening, she swore quietly. She was supposed to call him, last night.

Sam tried to remember what she’d been doing at 9 pm. Talking with one of the chaplains or maybe on the phone with the funeral home. It had been after 10, anyhow, when they had picked up Mark’s things from the motel and made it back to the house. Now that Beth and the boys were here, he’d had no reason to keep avoiding it.

Dragging herself out of bed, Sam decided to call Jack tonight. He had another day of leave left. Talk with him would be welcome after a day spent guiding Mark to make decisions about the funeral, about the Will, about the house. Thank goodness Beth was here, she was Mark’s rock and he needed her. 


	19. Chapter 19

“This number is turned off or unavailable.”

9 pm.

10 pm.

10.30 pm.

Sam couldn’t stay awake any longer. Beside her, Ellie was already out, exuding the sleep field that toddlers and babies were so good at producing. There was no escaping it, not when she was exhausted and grieving.

Jack wasn’t petty, he wouldn’t have his phone off just because she’d missed a call. Most likely he’d had a change to his mission or was in transit. It wasn’t like he had an obligation to keep Sam briefed of his movements. She’d email him in the morning.

At the front of her mind were the arrangements for the funeral, the debate over whether they should have the wake here or at the Academy. Whether they would follow Jacob’s wishes and have him cremated and buried with Eleanor or interred at Arlington. How long Beth and Mark should stay here and whether they were ok with going back to San Diego and leaving Sam to take care of all the executor’s duties on her own.

Enough of that, she chided herself, rolling over again. She’d spent the whole day thinking about everyone else, when there were other decisions weighing on her. Decisions for Ellie’s future, for hers.

For Ellie, the choice was easy. Jack should be as much a part of her life as he wanted. If that meant becoming roommates or neighbours, then Sam would move or make space for him. But the big question mark was over what she wanted. Could she live with someone else, again? Even when she’d dated other people, she had kept her own space and used it most nights. Sam liked her home, liked having it set up the way that she wanted. Could she allow Jack in? Only one way to find out, she supposed.

If he were here, now ... Sam pulled a pillow into her arms and closed her eyes again, hugging it to her, allowing herself to imagine someone’s arms around her, relaxing into their comfort. If the fantasy had a hint of Jack, well. Who’d begrudge her the memory of him doing just that?

_The fingers in her hair stroked the shape of her face, tracing her ear, running down her neck and circling on her shoulder. She kept her eyes closed, luxuriating in the just woken feeling, the smell of him, the warmth of his skin and his touch on her body. It had been far, far too long since she had spent the weekend in bed with someone._

_“I know you’re awake,” Jack said amusement in his voice._

_“If I wake up, you’re going to stop doing that to me.”_

_“This?” He wondered, running nails down her back to her hip, not hard enough to scratch, but firm enough to make her arch into him._

_“That,” She crooned. “Don’t stop.”_

_Jack kept running his fingers and nails over her, as requested. Kissing the top of her head, he murmured into her hair. “You’re beautiful, Sam.”_

_“You’re just saying that because you want to try again. Maybe I’m already pregnant and you’re no longer needed.” Her fingers were wandering over his chest, scraping through the salt and pepper hairs, edging their way lower. Sam wasn’t acting like she was done._

_His other hand came to her chin, lifting her face as he half rose up to meet her eyes. “I do want to try again. But that’s not why I’m saying that you’re beautiful. You were always pretty cute as a cadet and a young officer. But you’re a woman, now. And you’re more beautiful then ever.” Jack held her eyes until Sam accepted that he was being honest with her and then he kissed her. With his body, he tried to ingrain in her very core just how beautiful she was._

_Jack rolled Sam on to her back, lips still locked together, his body warm and heavy over her and ..._

Sam shot to alertness, in that way only a parent knows how, as Ellie cried out beside her. Ellie was sitting up, sobbing, as Sam pulled herself upright and wrapped her arms around her daughter. It was probably a nightmare, given the past few weeks it was no surprise. But then Ellie vomited over everything and Sam reassessed the cause of her tears. She pulled Ellie’s nightdress over her head, wiped her mouth and lifted her out of the worst of the mess. The two year old’s skin was burning hot, but she didn’t have a thermometer.

Wrapped up in a towel, Sam carried Ellie downstairs, hoping to find a thermometer in her Dad’s supplies. There she met Beth on her way out of the laundry. Behind her, the wash cycle was just beginning.

“Ellie, too?” Beth asked.

“Vomiting?”

Beth nodded, “Isaac threw up about a half hour ago.”

“So a virus or food poisioning,” Sam assessed.

“Probably. Do you know where I can get clean sheets for Isaac’s bed?”

Sam did, and she and Beth remade Isaac’s bed and then Sam and Ellie’s. In the middle of it all, Sam remembered to ask Beth if she had a thermometer and she took Ellie’s temperature and then gave her ibuprofen. Within 20 minutes the little girl seemed to be doing better.

Procuring a bucket each, they returned to their respective kids and tried to get what little sleep was left of the night. 


	20. Chapter 20

The next three days were a whirlwind of juggling all three kids being sick, planning the funeral, the wake and sitting with Jacob’s lawyer. Sam kept meaning to stop and write to Jack, but each night she fell into bed exhausted, curled up around her pillow and promised herself that she would do it tomorrow.

The morning of the funeral, Sam woke early, barely having slept. Surrendering to wakefulness, she pulled her laptop on to her knees and wondered exactly how she could tell him, tell anyone, that her Dad was gone.

_Dear Jack,_

_Dad’s funeral is today. I’m sorry that I didn’t write sooner, it has been a whirlwind of things to do. And then the kids all got gastro, it’s been a kind of black comedy here at Dad’s house._

_Mark and Beth are here with their kids. Most things we have sorted out and I’ll probably stay in the Springs until just before the semester begins._

_Ellie is recovering, but the nanny will take care of her and the boys during the funeral service, and then we’ll pick them up for the wake. The wake’s at the Academy, of all places._

_I’m sorry this isn’t longer. I want to apologise for missing your call the other night, that was the day we were at the hospital with Dad. He went peacefully and without fuss, with Mark and I there. You know that’s what he wanted. I tried calling again after, but your phone was switched off. I’m assuming your mission got bumped up._

_Call me, or write. We miss you._

_Sam and Ellie_


	21. Chapter 21

It was dark when Jack disembarked the transport at Dover. He could wait until the morning for a transport to Grand Forks or try to get a commercial flight to Duluth. The flight to Duluth would mean arriving in the wee hours and then having to drive, which he decided was probably not a good plan. Scoping out the airport, he found a corner to crash in, something with a socket so he could charge his phone.

On return from his latest mission, Jack found his leave approved and a meeting booked with his CO. The General had encouraged him to take the time to ‘consider his future’ which was code for retire at the end of his current commitment or accept a promotion, which meant a permanent desk job. He wasn’t surprised, 50 was very long in the tooth for a field command and he’d mostly avoided any upward movement with carefully timed misbehaviour.

Thinking about his future had already been Jack’s objective for this long break, so it didn’t really bother him. It left him with the option to retire even sooner, most likely. While he was actually very good at strategic planning, it was the direct connection with his officers in the field that he lived for. The challenge of the unexpected, making calls and getting them right and the split second strategic decisions. It was more than obvious that Jack didn’t have much longer left in the field. One more broken bone or another knee reconstruction would put him behind a desk permanently.

Walking out of that meeting, he’d found himself almost immediately on the transport to Dover with no firm plans for how to get to Minnesota. Arizona was pretty much out of the picture given the lack of contact he’d had with Sam and Ellie. Although, he glanced towards his phone, a few more minutes and he could confirm that for sure. It had been four weeks and a lot could have happened to them in that time. Sam had seem convinced that Jacob didn’t have long. Despite his resolve to move on, Jack’s heart hurt for both the fair haired ladies.

Pressing the on button over and over, a fidget to keep him busy while he waited, Jack finally got his phone to boot up. Muttering, he powered it off again and changed it to his US SIM card, tucking his German one carefully away. Finally, he connected with a US network and could pull up his emails. Finger hovering over Sam’s name, Jack took a deep breath and opened it.

Shit, oh shit. A month since he’d died ...

It was the decision of a split second to dial Sam’s number, he didn’t even stop to do the time conversion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You’ll all be very pleased to know that two chapters of Conception Weekend have been written by the muse.


	22. Chapter 22

Ellie was in the bath when her phone rang and Sam berated herself for leaving it downstairs. Well, whichever friend or relative of her dad it was would just have to wait. The calls were coming less frequently, now, but she was still averaging one a day. The Air Force grapevine was in full effect.

After the bath, Ellie asked for The Velveteen Rabbit. Instead of falling asleep as Sam read it, the little girl kept wiggling and squirming beside her. Finally, Sam stopped reading.

“What is it, Ellie?”

“Jack,” Ellie declared. “Where Jack?”

“This is Jack’s book, we’re already reading it.”

“Nooo,” Ellie said with pronounced seriousness, “Where Jack?”

Sam let out a slow breath. Ellie hadn’t asked about where Jack was before, she was still in the conceptual stage of here or not here. Other places where people could be were still beyond her, unless they were ‘at home’ or ‘at Mark and Beth’s house’.

“Where Jack,” Ellie repeated, wiggling out of the far side of their bed. She bounced over to the dresser and pointed to the picture frame there. “Ellie Jack,” she told her mother.

Sam finally got it. “Yes,” she said, getting out of bed and picking up the picture and bringing it and Ellie back to bed. Settling Ellie on her lap, she held the photo taken just after Ellie’s second birthday. “Ellie, Jack,” Sam repeated pointing to each of their faces. Ellie repeated her motions and words with great seriousness.

Then Sam touched the book. “Jack’s book.”

“Jack’s book.”

Taking a deep breath, Sam touched Jack’s face, again. “Ellie’s Jack.”

“Ellie’s Jack,” Ellie copied and then insisted on holding the framed photo until they finished the story.

Sam found herself tucking Ellie in with the picture. As she turned out the light and walked down the hall, Sam heard her little voice repeating over and over, “Ellie’s Jack.”

It had been too long since she’d written to Jack, after the kitchen was clean for the night she would have to send him an email.

The earlier missed phone call had been forgotten until Sam went to put on an audio book while she cleaned up. Seeing Jack’s US number took her by such surprise that it took a moment for the significance to sink in. He was back stateside.

Holding down his number, she let it connect.

“Sam!” Jack sounded tired, but whole.

Sam felt a sense of relief at hearing his voice. “Where are you?” She asked.

“Dover. I just got your email.”

“Oh god.” She leaned against the counter, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry, I meant to send another one, to give you more of an update.”

“Don’t, no. You don’t need to apologise. I do. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you. And Ellie,” he added.

“It’s ok. We made it through the worst bits. Mark and Beth were here with the kids ...” Sam trailed off, remembering how lonely she had felt, even with her family around her. “I wished you were here,” she whispered as her barely scabbed over vulnerability was suddenly a gaping wound. “I missed you.”

“Gods, Sam,” Jack had to swallow and take a few breaths to compose himself. Keeping his voice steady with a effort of will, he asked, “Where are you? Colorado or Arizona?”

Rubbing at her forehead and wishing she could pack all her emotions away again, Sam spoke carefully. “Colorado. I’m staying at Dad’s house. I’ve just arranged to take the semester off and stay here to sort out his estate. There’s so much to do ...” she found her voice straining again and tapered off.

“I can be there tomorrow,” Jack told her. “If you want me to come, that is. I’m stateside until early December at the very least.”

“What? How can you be here?” Sam tried to untangle the threads of Jack’s words unsuccessfully.

“It’s a long story with some twists and turns, but I’ve taken all the leave I have owing and I can be,” he swallowed and took the leap, “I can be wherever you and Ellie need me.”

“Jack,” Sam breathed out his name, momentarily overwhelmed, her world tilting so swiftly that she felt dizzy.

“Sam?” He wondered, “Should I come?”

Sam’s mental landscape righted itself, irrevocably changed but holding steady. “Come, please. We need you.”

“Alright. It’ll be a couple of hours until I can find out when. I can text you.”

Turning, she aimed for the couch and fell into it. “We can come pick you up.”

“Nah, it’s not that far. I can catch a taxi or bum a ride with someone.” With a measured breath, Jack took another leap, “I missed you, too. I’ve been missing you for a long time.”

Weeks and weeks of suppressed tears overflowed, building and choking her until Sam was forced to draw in a shaky breath.

“Hey,” Jack crooned into the phone. “You’re not alone. I’m here and in 24 hours, I’ll really be with you.”

“Jack,” she choked out. “Don’t go, yet.”

“I’ve got nothing to do but talk to you.”

Despite having to listen to her sob and sniffle, he sounded happy about that to Sam’s ears. She had to smile. “Ellie did the cutest thing, tonight.”

“Yeah?” He was definitely happy. “What did my little Star do?”

“She connected your photo with The Velveteen Rabbit. Went to sleep with the photo, too. She needs you,” Sam added.

“I need her, too,” Jack replied. “We can talk more about this later, but, I don’t have to go back.”

“To Germany?” Sam asked.

“Or the Air Force,” Jack added. “I could move to Arizona,” he suggested, tentatively, “If that’s what you were trying to suggest the last time we talked.”

Sam swallowed. “It was. Jack, let’s talk about this face to face. I want to have this conversation, but if we can do it ...”

“Together, then we should wait,” he finished for her. “There’s really no rush. We can just be, for a while.”

“I would like that,” Sam said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. “Everything is just ... and I’m so tired.”

“Rest, my beautiful Star. Go to bed and I’ll see you sometime tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Sam told him. “Text me.”

“I will. Night, Sam.”

“Night.” Sam let Jack end the call, she was too exhausted to move.

When she could get up, Sam left the kitchen as it was and turned out the lights. Crawling into bed beside Ellie, she moved Jack’s photo to the nightstand before turning off the lamp.

Jack would be here tomorrow and she could rest. With his imagined arms around her, Sam fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear, that’s just the first two chapters of Weekend Conception. There will be more ..


	23. Chapter 23

On the flight he struck up a conversation with a local who lived on the right side of town, so he didn’t even have to organise a taxi. It was after lunch when he shut the car door and turned, taking in Jacob’s house. It was simple, and small, which fit with Jacob’s widower status. Probably a couple of bedrooms upstairs with living area on the ground floor.

Approaching the front door, he saw a note stuck over the doorbell.

 _Jack -_  
_Putting Ellie down for her nap. Come in, shouldn’t be long._  
_\- Sam_

Gently opening the door, Jack took in the downstairs. Simply furnished, a little bit traditional, it felt like Jacob. He passed a study and a formal dining room, both facing the street, and then entered the heart of the house - kitchen, casual dining and lounge.

Leaving his bag in the corner, a plate on the table caught his eye. Covered in wrap, there was a note on top with one word - _Eat_. Jack smiled and unwrapped the sandwich. Sam was always feeding him, convinced that he never got enough home cooked food. About that, she was right.

He’d finished the first half when he heard the stairs creak and then there she was, looking tired and pale. Jack went to get up and Sam waved him back into his seat, going in to the kitchen. The fridge opened and closed and she returned with two beers.

“Ok?” She asked. When he nodded, she sat down in the next chair and handed him one of the bottles.

Jack reached for it, instead closing his hand over Sam’s. He slipped the beer out of their combined grip with his free hand and then shifted the lay of his fingers to intertwine with hers.

“You look like hell,” he told her, bringing their hands to rest on the table, his thumb caressing and moving endlessly over her skin.

Sam smiled wryly and slid down in her chair, leaving her hand in his. “Thanks. You come all the way from Germany to tell me that?”

“Amongst other things.” The corner of Jack’s mouth curled up as he looked her over. Sam could feel the warmth of his intense gaze as he seemed to look right through her, cataloguing all the places that hurt and ached, both physical and mental. “I’ll start with an apology and then move on to making amends and after all that, maybe you can forgive me.”

Confusion wound its way across Sam’s features. “Jack O’Neill, what on earth are you talking about?”

“I should have been here,” Jack started, “But I’d been so convinced that you could never possibly want me near you, that I let you, and Ellie, think that I didn’t love you.”

Sam tipped her head and opened her mouth to argue. He was expecting it, and held up a finger to forestall her.

“Is there a corner of your strong and independent and wonderfully feminist life that has room for me?”

Nodding slowly, her chest constricting and eyes pricking, Sam squeezed his fingers. “Always,” she managed to say around the welling panic and sorrow.

Jack’s calculating eyes saw it coming, and he pushed his chair back from the table. “C’mere,” he urged Sam, tugging on her hand. She came to him, and he pulled her into his lap, letting her curl up against his chest and cry. Arms around her, Jack gentled her back and buried his nose in her hair.

When Sam was finally out of tears, Jack nuzzled her hair and kissed the top of her head. The woman in his arms sighed and stretched, sliding her arms around his shoulders, sitting up straighter. Jack turned his face to hers and pressed his closed lips to her mouth, asking nothing, offering no more than the comfort of the kiss.

It was Sam who moved her mouth against his, parting her lips, tugging at his with her own until, at the touch of her tongue, he split open under her and she was entering him. Salty tears mixed with the welcome taste of her and he closed his eyes, remembering the time that they had shared everything except feelings of love, carefully locked away behind walls of their own construction.

He’d thought, on the rare occasion he’d allowed himself this dream, that their reunion would be hot and passionate. Instead, it was this - apology, acceptance, comfort, forgiveness - and it felt better than anything he could have imagined.

When it was over, and Jack only allowed it to end because he knew there would be many more kisses to come, Sam curled up again against his chest and closed her eyes.

“Beautiful Star,” he murmured against her hair and she responded with a sigh. “You alright?”

“I will be,” she answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be one or two more chapters to satisfy all your questions about ‘what next?’ :) if there’s something specific that you want to know or see resolved, mention it in the comments.


	24. Chapter 24

The beers stood unopened and warming on the table. Sam had moved to the couch and enticed Jack to join her while he finished the sandwich. They sat together, hips touching, bare feet up on the coffee table, as they caught up.

Sam found her fingers brushing against Jack’s thigh as they talked, reassuring herself of his presence. He needed to touch her, too, his foot resting against hers, curling his toes against her.

Sandwich finished, Jack put an arm around her shoulders as they talked and she fit herself into his side with a sigh.

Coming to a halt, Sam realised that she’d been speaking for a few minutes while Jack had been silent. She turned her head to look at him. Jack cupped her face and smiled, thumb caressing her cheek.

“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said,” Sam observed.

“Been distracted,” he confessed, “Thinking about you.”

“Really,” her mouth quirked in a smile just before he kissed her again.

With growing boldness, he teased her lips, tilting her chin as she parted them so he could explore her whole mouth. Sam turned into him and he grasped the back of her thigh, guiding her to straddle his lap, palming her ass through her jeans, stroking the small of her back, sliding fingers under the waistband and finding sensitive flesh to caress.

Sam moaned into his mouth and then froze, pulling back, eyes turning toward the stairs. His hands stilled as he watched her and then he heard it, too.

“Ellie.”

Sam nodded and kissed the tip of Jack’s nose. “I’ll go and tell her you’re here.” Jack probably needed the time to ease his arousal.

In their bed, Ellie was sitting up, legs tangled in her nap blanket, rubbing her sleepy eyes with one hand, the other clutching the photo of her and Jack.

“Hey sleepy head,” Sam greeted her, sitting down beside her. “Ready to get up?”

Ellie nodded and let Sam pull her into her lap.

“You’ve got your photo there. Were you looking at it?”

Ellie nodded again and touched her finger to Jack’s face, “Ellie’s Jack.”

“Mommy and Ellie’s Jack,” Sam agreed. “Do you want to go and see Jack?”

Ellie’s nose screwed up in concentration, a look that she’d learned from Max over the past few months. “Ellie’s Jack,” she said, touching the photo.

“The real Ellie’s Jack is downstairs. He wants to see you.”

“Stairs?” Ellie asked.

“Yes, downstairs. Let’s go see him.”

“Ellie’s Jack,” she repeated, holding the photo.

“Ok, we can take it with us.” Sam stood up, fixed Ellie on her hip and took the stairs down.

Jack was leaning against the kitchen counter, having put away his plate and the bottles of beer. Ellie leaned into her mother’s shoulder as she eyed Jack.

“Jack,” Sam said as Ellie considered him. Crossing the room, she came to a stop beside Jack, half turning into him. “Show Jack your photo.”

Ellie looked down at the photo that she was holding and then looked at the man. “Ellie Jack,” she said and thrust the frame towards him.

Taking it, Jack held it so they could both see and he pointed to Ellie, then himself and repeated, “Ellie, Jack.”

“Ellie, Jack,” she agreed, touching each of them in the picture.

Jack touched his finger to her chest, “Ellie,” then touched himself, “Jack.”

Repeating her nose scrunched up puzzled expression from earlier, Ellie, rubbed her finger against her chest where Jack had touched her. “Ellie,” and then she reached for him and Jack put his hands out to take her, “Jack,” she declared.

Taking the photo frame from his fingers, Sam smiled as Jack made the funny faces that Ellie had liked so much the last time that they were together and her high pitched giggles filled the kitchen. Her father, she reflected, would have approved of the laughter filling his house again as Jack hammed it up for his granddaughter. There hadn’t been enough of it since Jacob had gone into hospital.

 

* * *

 

Jack couldn’t get enough of his Stars. He and Ellie played outside and then inside as the evening turned cool. Jack got her to help clean up her toys and set the table for dinner as Sam cooked.

Ellie caught him kissing Sam near the pantry and insistently asked for, “Up, up,” until Jack picked her up and they cuddled her between them. Laying big smooches on each of their cheeks, she made a face as she pulled back from kissing Jack. “Ouch.”

Sam laughed as Jack apologised and promised he would shave his stubble for her.

After dinner, he took Ellie up for her bath and Sam cleaned up. From the squeals and the sloshing, she was worried that she would soon see water cascading down the stairs. When they called her upstairs for story, Sam found the bathroom mostly dry, although she did notice that all the towels had been used.

Ellie cuddled between them and Jack read to her, Sam resting her head on his shoulder. They both gave Ellie kisses and then Sam left them together to sing Twinkle, Twinkle.

Sam was wiping down the counters and putting the clean dishes away when Jack descended the stairs and embraced her from behind, rubbing his stubble lightly across her neck.

“When do we go to bed?” He asked, kissing the skin he’d just buffed with his two day growth.

“Hmmm, that we should discuss,” she told him, tossing the kitchen cloth in the sink and turning around in his arms.

“Ok. What do you want to discuss?” Jack kept his hold on her, but there was caution in his eyes.

Sam tilted her head and brushed her fingers over his cheek. “Is this a drop in visit, or are you intending to make us your home?”

“I ...,” he stopped. “I don’t want to assume, we’ve barely talked about this.”

Acknowledging his point with a nod, Sam caressed his skin in what she hopped was a reassuring way. “Tell me what you want.”

“There’s a lot to tell you, but the main point is that before I left, I was told to think about whether I want to retire or take a desk job. Until I landed at Dover I thought I might go up to the cabin and think about settling there permanently. And then, when I got your email I knew that I had to be here and to try to make this, the three of us, into an option.”

Sam smiled at him, a smile that filled her eyes and overflowed until it filled Jack with its warmth. “The three of us,” she repeated.

Jack pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you, and I love Ellie and I want to be with you both. If you’ll have me.”

“I think we’ll keep you,” Sam told him, her smile still wide and beaming.

“Bright Star,” he whispered before he kissed her, slow and purposefully, stoking her desire until Sam had to break away to catch her breath. Jack moved to kissing her neck, lips finding the point under her jaw where she loved to be teased.

“There’s just a few more things,” Sam told him when she had some of her breath back.

“Mmhmm?” Jack hummed into the skin over her collar bone before beginning to bite her softly.

Sam groaned and then tapped him on the crown of his head.

“Hey,” he grumbled at being interrupted.

“Two minutes,” she told him, “And then I will be very pleased to let you continue.” Sam tried to look stern, but when he made puppy dog eyes at her she laughed and swatted his shoulder. “One,” she said through her laughter, “I’m not on any birth control right now, so unless you have condoms ...” she trailed off meaningfully.

“I might,” he muttered. “The Docs hand them out like lollipops. If not, well, there are parts of you that I would be more than happy to get reacquainted with.”

She raised her eyes to the ceiling, but Jack knew her blush when he saw it.

“Two?” He prompted.

“Here, Ellie sleeps in my bed which means we need to find another place to go to bed, but I might end up sleeping with her, if she wakes up. Only temporary,” Sam promised, “Until we have a chance to broach the idea with her.”

“That’s just fine,” Jack reassured her. “We’ll work out how to all fit together as we go. Is there a three?”

“Nope,” Sam grinned. “We are good to go.”

“Gods, woman, I want to take you right here and fuck you senseless and I also want to tease you slowly until you beg me to let you come.” Jack pressed her into the counter, underlining his point with the hardness in his pants.

“Then you’d better find those condoms,” she told him, pushing off the counter and sliding away from him. “I’ll be in the spare bedroom when you’re ready.”

She laughed again as Jack growled at her retreating form. Grabbing his bag from where he’d dumped it earlier, Jack followed her up the stairs, moving carefully to avoid waking Ellie.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For SlytherinSweetheart1

Jack’s fingers fluttered against the skin of her belly and she yawned and stretched under his hand. Responding with a kiss on the back of her neck, he murmured, “Good morning, bright Star,” as his fingers trailed lower, sliding under the elastic of her underwear.

“Do we have time?” Sam asked.

“Why do you think I woke you early?” He asked, starting to tease her.

“I like the way you think,” she replied, shifting so he had better access and turning over her shoulder to kiss him.

Jack was just removing any impediments to their early morning, pre-routine routine when there came a rattle at the doorknob as someone, unsuccessfully, tried to open it.

“Thank heaven for locks,” Jack murmured into Sam’s skin and she chuckled in response.

“Moooom, Daaaad,” came the insistent whine from the determined door opener. “CJ won’t get out of the bathroom, can I use yours?”

“We’re not up, yet,” Jack called to Ellie.

“Ooh, yuck. I do not want to know!”

Sam laughed while Jack murmured to her, “I thought when I retired I would be done with mouthy teenagers.”

“It’s fine, I’ll be ok. And I’ll remember that instead of helping me you let me go to graduation looking like a frump,” Ellie slipped into guilt, despite it rarely working with her parents.

“That’s what you’ll look like, anyway,” a young, male voice said from behind her.

“CJ!” Ellie scolded, before stomping off to the bathroom and shutting the door heavily.

“Charles Jacob Carter-O’Neill,” Sam called. “You’ll apologise to your sister before she leaves for school.”

They heard him retreating down the stairs with a grumbling, “Yes, Mom.”

“I thought you woke me early?” Sam said to Jack.

“I did,” he murmured into her skin, tongue and lips busy.

“Guess it must be some kind of important day,” Sam mused and then mewled as he found a sweet spot.

“Shush,” Jack murmured, playfully. “The kids might hear us.”

Sam laughed one last time before all she could do was sigh and moan.

 

* * *

 

“See her, yet?” Sam asked.

“How would I know her from anyone else?” Jack complained as he squinted at the black robed teens filing into the stadium.

“Are you sure your last eye test was good?” Sam teased.

“It’s the glare from the sun. Too bright at this altitude,” he rejoined, blaming the high elevation of Colorado Springs.

Beside them, CJ snorted.

“I don’t need your scepticism, young man,” Jack admonished.

CJ snorted again.

“With the amount of respect I get from this family, you’d never think I was the most feared instructor at the Academy,” Jack grumbled.

This time, Sam snorted. “You’re confusing yourself with my father. I have it from multiple people that the cadets adored you, O’Neill.”

“No respect,” he muttered again and then was interrupted by an excited CJ.

“There she is!”

Sam smiled to herself. CJ and Ellie were far better friends than they let on. It was the five year age gap that had them at loggerheads more often than anything else.

After the national anthem, the stadium settled into their seats and all the speeches began. Sam liked to think that the audience clapped loudest for Ellie’s, which could have been true, given the cheers the senior class let loose for their Valedictorian.

They posed with Ellie for the family photos and then lost both of the kids for a while as they sought out their friends. Jack wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulders while she hugged his waist and they watched the crowds.

“We made a good baby,” Sam observed.

“I’m still glad that you asked me,” Jack said.

“Why,” Sam laughed, “Did you have some regrets along the way?”

He kissed her hair. “Never,” he promised her. “I’m honoured to be a part of the constellation Carter-O’Neill.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the most loveliest readers in fandom! Your encouragement and love for this fic means so much.
> 
> There is a ‘deleted’ sexy-times scene that I will post separately. As this fic was for a non-explicit fluff challenge, I will respect that and keep the rating to T. I’ll post the scene as part of the Little Stars series. 
> 
> <3 <3


End file.
